Apparatus for producing metallic shot



April 12, 1938. E. w. BOYNTON APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING METALLIC SHOT Filed April 7, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 12, 1938. E. w. BOYNTON 2,114,209

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING METALLIC SHOT Filed April 7, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 12, 1938 UNITE-D STATES PATENT OFFICE Eugene W. Boynton, Muscatine, Iowa Application April 7, 1937, Serial No. 135,608

16 Claims.

This invention is a novel apparatus for producing metallic shot from steel, iron or other metals, which shot is largely used in connection with air-blasts for smoothing and cleaning foundry castings or the like.

Heretofore shot has been produced by several methods, one being to melt scrap iron in an ordinary cupola and then drench the metal, while molten, in a bath of water, the product being subsequently ground to small sizes for blasting use; while other methods have involved the step of injecting the molten metal as it leaves the cupola into steam jets; or to spray water into the molten metal as it leaves the cupola.

One object of my invention is to provide an apparatus which will produce shot of substantially round shape and of substantially uniform size, by dropping the stream or streams of molten metal as it leaves the cupola onto a rapidly moving endless belt or conveyor the surface of which is protected from injury, due to heat of the metal, by a film of water discharged onto the belt at a speed substantially equal to that of the belt, the impact of the stream or streams of molten metal on the rapidly moving belt causing the same to spray and divide into small particles which are carried along with the belt and are quickly chilled by contact with the water and by their rapid movement through the air, thus forming the shot.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus having a rapidly moving belt conveyor as above described, with a water discharge nozzle adjacent the point of contact of the stream or streams of molten metal with the belt, said nozzle issuing the jet of water onto the belt at the approximate linear speed of the belt and the cross-section of the jet'as it issues being in the form of a hollow rectangle of width approximately the same as that of the belt, the lower 40 run of the jet depositing a protective film of water directly on the belt, and the upper run forming a blanket to confine the particles of molten metal rebounding after impact from the belt be tween the lower and upper runs; the jet being further divided into as many longitudinal sections as there. are streams of molten metal.

I will explain the invention with reference to the accompanying drawingswhich illustrate one 50 practical embodiment thereof to enable others familiar with the art to adopt and use the same; and will summarize in the claims, the novel features of construction, and novel combinations of parts, for which protection is desired.

55 In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my novel apparatus including the adjacent portion of the cupola.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof, with the cupola and spout removed.

Fig. 2a is a top plan View of the cupola and 5 discharge spout showing the adjacent portions of the apparatus.

'Fig. 3 is'an enlarged section on the line 3-3, Fig. 1.

As shown themaohine preferably comprises a 10 horizontally disposed trough I of suitable dimensions open at each end, same being preferably about forty tofifty feet in length and supported in any desired manner such as by legs 2 at a suitable elevation above the ground or floor sur- 15 face. One end of the trough is bent downwardly as at la on an arc of diameter less than the height of the trough above the floor, said end continuing downwardly and outwardly as at lb and discharging into any suitable shot screening and 20 collecting device (not shown).

The bottom of the trough in way of the bend la has a rectangular opening lc extending entirely across the trough bottom, and into the said opening extends a belt drum 3 so positioned 25 that its upper periphery forms a substantial continuat-ion of the bottom of the trough in way of opening lo, the drum 3 being supported on an axle 4 which may be journaled in bearings 4a on blocks 5 disposed at the sides of the trough. 3O Shaft 4 is further provided with a belt or rope pulley 6 around which runs a belt or rope I which is driven from a belt or rope pulley 8 on the shaft of a motor 9 which may be a variable speed motor. Opposite the other end of trough l is 35 a belt drum l0 supported upon a shaft II which may be mounted in bearings Ha supported upon blocks i2 or the like, the upper periphery of drum l0 being disposed slightly above the bottom of the trough. Around drums 3 and It) runs I 4.0

- an endless conveyor belt l3 of substantially the same width as the trough and having its upper run disposed slightly above the bottom of the trough, the belt being adapted to run at relatively high speeds. ,45

At the end of the trough below belt 13 is a transversely disposed spray pipe l8 connected with a source of water supply and adapted to direct spray of Water against the underside of the upper run of the belt as it enters the trough in order to lubricate the belt and reduce friction between the belt and bottom of the trough, and moreover to wet the belt and assist in preventing injury thereto due to the heat of the molten metal dropping thereon,

Entering the end of the trough above drum I0 is a main water supply pipe l4 connected with an outwardly flaring conduit l5 for distributing a jet of water across the belt 13, the cross-section of the jet being in the form of a hollow rectangle embracing substantially the full width of the trough, said jet issuing in the direction of arrows :0, Figs. 1 and 2, at a velocity substantially equal to that of the belt it, which also moves in the direction of said arrows.

Within conduit l5 are baffles l6, three being shown substantially equally spaced apart, said bafiies being disposed longitudinally of the conduit to produce a substantially even distribution of the volume of water passing to the jet throughout the width of the conduit. The outer ends of baffles it are flared outwardly as at [6m and are provided with lateral wings lBb (Fig. 3) of rectangular shape, said wings being of dimensions such as to restrict the stream of water issuing from conduit l5 into a jet having a substantially hollow rectangular cross-section, the stream comprising a horizontal upper run A (Fig. 3) and lower run B interconnected at their side edges by vertical runs C and intermediate vertical runs D, the intermediate interconnections D thus dividing the hollow jet into a plurality of separate longitudinal sections across the width of the trough. The jet is thus disposed substantially over the entire width of belt IS, with its lower run B closely overlying the upper surface of the belt to protect same from injury due tothe heat of the molten metal. If desired the bottom of the conduit l5 may be provided with a transverse series of perforations I531: (Figs. 1 and 2) intermediate its ends to permit an initial film of water to be deposited upon the upper surface of belt H3 in advance of the jet to further assist in preventing injury to the belt due to the heat of the molten metal.

Cupola I! is of ordinary type and is disposed beside the trough opposite conduit l5 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2a, the cupola having a bridge Ha sloping downwardly to a position over the trough, and having a downwardly directed outer end portion l'lb terminating within the trough above and directly in front of the inner end of conduit Hi. The molten metal from the cupola descends along groove He in bridge l'icu and divides through the branch grooves Hd, He and enters a molten metal reservoir II) in bridge portion Nb and from thence along feeder grooves Hg, I'lh and Hi, from which the molten metal is discharged in substantially equal streams, dropping directly in front of the enlarged ends Ilia of the baffles l6 as clearly shown in Fig. 3, upon the rapidly moving belt l3 which carries a film of water issuing from the lower run B of the jet. It will be noted from' inspection of Fig. 3 that the ends I60: of the baffles form gaps in the upper and lower runs A, B of the jet to permit the streams of molten metal issuing from. grooves I'lg, I'lh, Hi, to drop directly onto the belt l3.

When the molten metal strikes the belt, the same splashes upwardly as indicated in Fig. 3 but the splashing particles from each stream are confined within their respective sections of the jet bounded by the runs A, B, C and/or D, the splashing particles being thus chilled by the water and air to substantially round shot of substantially uniform size, the shot being carried along with the rapidly moving belt and the film of Water thereon and discharged over the end of the belt as it passes around drum 3, the shot being directed by the inclined portion lb of the trough into suitable shot strainers (not shown) from whence same may be delivered into suitable storage or collecting receptacles.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, an endless conveyor having a substantially horizontal upper run, means for rapidly moving said conveyor run; transversely spaced nozzle means closely overlying the upper run and projecting in the direction of movement of the conveyor for directing spaced streams of quenching fluid onto the conveyor at substantially the same linear speed as the conveyor run; means for depositing molten metal between the nozzles closely adjacent to the forward ends thereof and contacting only that portion of the conveyor run between the nozzles.

2. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, an endless conveyor; means for rapidly moving the conveyor runs; means for directing molten metal against a run of said conveyor; means for enveloping the metal spray rebounding from said run in a blanket of quenching fluid moving along with said run, said directing means conducting the molten metal as a stream; and said enveloping means comprising a conduit connected with a supply of fluid under pressure and having a nozzle opposite the stream for directing a water jet therefrom in the direction of movement of the run, said jet being of hollow cross-section and having gaps in alignment with the stream.

3. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, an endless conveyor; means for rapidly moving the conveyor runs; means for directing molten metal against a run of said conveyor; means for enveloping the metal spray rebounding from said run in a blanket of quenching fluid moving along with said run, said directing means conducting the molten metal as a series of streams disposed transversely of the conveyor; and said enveloping means comprising a conduit connected with a supply of fluid under pressure, said conduit having a nozzle in advance of the series for directing a water jet therefrom. in the direction of movement of the run; said jet being of substantially hollow rectangular cross section and having gaps in its upper and lower runs in alignment with the streams.

4. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, an endless conveyor; means for rapidly moving the conveyor runs; means for directing molten metal against a run of said conveyor; means for enveloping the metal spray rebounding from said run in a blanket of quenching fluid moving along with said run, said directing means conducting the molten metal as a series of streams disposed transversely of the conveyor; and said enveloping means comprising a conduit connected with a supply of fluid under pressure, said conduit having a nozzle in advance of the series for directing a water jet therefrom in the direction of movement of the run; said jet being of substantially hollow rectangular cross-section and having gaps in its upper and lower runs in alignment with the streams, and having vertical runs interposed between the streams.

5. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, an endless conveyor; means for rapidly moving the conveyor runs; means for directing molten metal against a run of said conveyor; means for enveloping the metal spray rebounding from said run in a blanket of quenching fluid moving along with said run, said directing means conducting the molten metal as a series of streams disposed transversely of the conveyor; and said enveloping means comprising a conduit connected with a supply of fluid under pressure, said conduit having a nozzle in advance of the series for directing a water jet therefrom-inthe direction of movement of the run; said jet being of sub-. stantially hollow rectangular cross-section and having gaps in its upper and lower runs in alignment with the streams, and having vertical runs interposed between the streams, the lower run of the jet closely overlying the conveyor.

6. In apparatus for producing metallic: shot, an endless conveyor; means for rapidly moving the conveyor runs; means for directing molten metal against a run of said conveyor; means for protecting the conveyor againstthe heat of the molten metal; means for enveloping the metal spray rebounding from' said run in a blanket of quenching fluid moving in the direction of said run of the conveyor, said protecting means comprising means for wetting the upper and lower surfaces of the run of the conveyor in advance of the point of contact of the molten metal on said run.

7. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, an endless conveyor; means for rapidly moving the conveyor runs; means for directing molten metal against a run of said conveyor; means for protecting the conveyor against the heat of the molten metal; means for enveloping the metal spray rebounding from said run in a blanket of quenching fluid moving in the direction of said run of the conveyor, said directing means conducting the molten metal as a stream; and said enveloping means comprising a conduit connected with a supply of fluid under pressure and having a nozzle opposite the stream for directing a water jet therefrom in the direction of movement of the run, said jet being of hollow crosssection and having gaps in alignment with the stream.

8. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, an endless conveyor; means for rapidly moving the conveyor runs; means for directing molten metal against a run of said conveyor; means for protecting the conveyor against the heat of the molten metal; means for enveloping the metal spray rebounding from said run in a blanket of quenching fluid moving in the direction of said run of the conveyor, said directing means conducting the molten metal as a series of streams disposed transversely of the conveyor; and said enveloping means comprising a conduit connected with a supply of fluid under pressure, said conduit having a nozzle in advance of the series for directing a water jet therefrom in the direction of movement of the run; said jet being of substantially hollow rectangular cross-section and having gaps in its upper and lower runs in alignment with the streams.

9. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, an endless conveyor; means for rapidly moving the conveyor runs; means for directing molten metal against a run of said conveyor; means for protecting the conveyor against the heat of the molten metal; means for enveloping the metal spray rebounding from said run in a blanket of quenching fluid moving in the direction of said run of the conveyor, said directing means conducting the molten metal as a series of streams disposed transversely of the conveyor; and said enveloping means comprising a conduit connected with a supply of fluid under pressure, said conduit having a nozzle in advance of the series for directing a water jet therefrom in the direction of movement of the run; said jet being of substantially hollow rectangular cross-section and having gaps in its upper and lower runs in alignment with the streams, and having vertical runs interposed between the streams.

. 10. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, an endless conveyor; means for rapidly moving the conveyor runs; means for directing molten metal against a run of said conveyor; means for protecting the conveyor against the heat of the molten metal; means for enveloping the metal spray rebounding from said run in a blanket of quenching fluid moving in the direction of said run of the conveyor, said directing means condueting the molten metal as a series of streams disposed transversely of the conveyor; and said enveloping means comprising a conduit connected with a supply of fluid under pressure, said conduit having a nozzle in advance of the series for directing a water jet therefrom in the direction of movement of the run; said jet being of substantially hollow rectangular cross-section and having gaps inits upper and lower runs in alignment with the streams, and having vertical runs interposed between the streams, the lower run of the jet closely overlying the conveyor.

11. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, a trough; an endless conveyor in the bottom of said trough; means for rapidly moving the conveyor runs; means for directing molten metal against a run of said conveyor; means for protecting the conveyor against the heat of the molten metal; means for enveloping the metal spray rebounding from said run in a blanket of quenching fluid moving in the direction of said run of the conveyor, said directing means conducting the molten metal as a stream and said enveloping means comprising a conduit in the trough in advance of the stream connected with a supply of fluid under pressure, said conduit having a nozzle for directing a water jet of hollow cross-section extending across the trough, the jet having gaps in its upper and lower runs in alignment with the stream.

12. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, a trough; an endless conveyor in the bottom of said trough; means for rapidly moving the conveyor runs; means for directing molten metal against a run of said conveyor; means for protecting the conveyor against the heat of the molten metal; means for enveloping the metal spray rebounding from said run in a blanket of quenching fluid moving in the direction of said run of the conveyor, said directing means conducting the molten metal as a series of streams disposed transversely of the conveyor; and said enveloping means comprising a conduit in the trough in advance of the series connected with a supply of fluid under pressure, said conduit having a nozzle for directing a water jet of substantially hollow rectangular cross-section extending across the trough, the jet having gaps in its upper and lower runs in alignment with the streams.

13. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, a trough; an endless conveyor in the bottom of said trough; means for rapidly moving the conveyor runs; means for directing molten metal against a run of said conveyor; means for protecting the conveyor against the heat of the molten metal; means for enveloping the metal spray rebounding from said run in a blanket of quenching fluid moving in the direction of said run of the conveyor, said directing means conducting the molten metal as a series of streams disposed transversely of the conveyor; and said enveloping means comprising a conduit in the 7 trough in advance of the series connected with a supply of fluid under pressure, said conduit having a nozzle for directing a water jet of substantially hollow rectangular cross-section extending across the trough, the jet having gaps in its upper and lower runs in alignment with the streams, and having vertical runs interposed between the streams.

14. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, a trough; an endless conveyor in the bottom of said trough; means for rapidly moving the conveyor runs; means for directing molten metal against a run of said conveyor; means for protecting the conveyor against the heat of the molten metal; means for enveloping the metal spray rebounding from said run in a blanket of quenching fluid moving in the direction of said run of the conveyor, said directing means conducting the molten metal as a series of streams disposed transversely of the conveyor; and said enveloping means comprising a conduit in the trough in advance of the series connected with a supply of fluid under pressure, said conduit having a nozzle for directing a water jet of substantially hollow rectangular cross-section extending across the trough, the jet having gaps in its upper and lower runs in alignment with the streams, and having vertical runs interposed between the streams, the lower run of the jet closely overlying the belt. 1

15. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, an endless conveyor; means for moving the conveyor; means for directing a stream of molten metal onto a run of the conveyor; and a conduit overlying the run in advance of the stream connected with a supply of fluid under pressure and having a nozzle opposite the stream for directing a water jet of hollow cross-section in the direction of movement of the run, the jet having gaps in its upper and lower runs in alignment with the stream, said jet enveloping the spray of molten metal rebounding from the run.

16. In apparatus for producing metallic shot, an endless conveyor; means for moving the conveyor; means for directing a series of streams of molten metal onto a run of the conveyor, said series being disposed transversely of the conveyor; and a conduit overlying the run in advance of the series connected with a supply of fluid under pressure and having a nozzle opposite the series for directing a water jet of substantially hollow rectangular cross-section in the direction of movement of the run; the jet having gaps in its upper and lower runs in alignment with the streams and having vertical runs interposed between the streams forming sections of the jet enveloping the spray of molten metal rebounding from the run in way of the streams of the series.

EUGENE W. BOYNTON. 

